Fire Emblem: Legends of Caelin
by This name is horrible
Summary: Kai is an assassin from Lycia known for his success rate as well as the bloodstained mask he wears. He was a battered man who would kill any target for enough money. One day, he was brought to Caelin and hired by Lundgren to accomplish one simple assassination. He had to kill Lady Lyndis, this one mission changes his life, but the question is, will he see it through? LynXTact
1. Girl of the plains and Assassin of Lycia

"Leave mommy and daddy alone!" A boy no older than six years old screamed. A woman was holding the dead corpse of the boy's father by the face and she threw the corpse away from her.

"I've heard enough, you nuisance!" The woman retorted. She extended her two fingers and shot a blast of magic at the boy, hitting him in the eye and causing him to fall on his back, wailing in pain. The woman laughed at his pain then turned to a small crib on the other end of the room. She then made her way to the crib. She rose her hand to kill the infant but she felt a blast of magic slam against her back. She turned to see the small boy standing behind her, holding the eye she had blasted.

"Y-You ingrate...That actually hurt!" She exclaimed.

"Don't you dare touch her!" He growled. The woman's scowl slowly turned into a smile.

"That power of yours, it could be useful," She stated. She ran to the boy and then grabbed him by the jaw and lifted him up into the air. He slowly felt his life energy drain as the woman began to drain his magic ability. The boy struggled as his magic was drained trying to move the womans hand away. The boy faded as his grip on the woman's arm became weak. He began to fade away as he was thrown away. The woman then shot a powerful blast of magic at the boy, causing him to go straight through the wooden interior of the home. The boy felt a pool of blood begin to shape under him as the rain of the outdoors fell on his face. The woman then walked over to his body and she looked at the boy. The boy tried to grab her, but she kicked his hand, possibly breaking it.

"It's useless to keep struggling against death. When a mage loses their aura, they die automatically, but I'm surprised you managed to live this long. There is something extraordinary about you, which is why I must exterminate you now," the woman laughed as she placed her foot on the boy's stomach.

"Say hello to your parents for me," the woman laughed as she shot a blast of magic at the boy causing him to lose consciousness.

* * *

><p>"Hey, wake up," a voice demanded. The boy woke up to see a man with long hair standing over him. The boy sat up and saw the hole in the side of his home. He ran to his house, but felt pain in his back due to the pain he'd been put through after being sent through the house. He ran to the corpses of his parents.<p>

"No, mommy...daddy...No..." He then remembered his sister. He stumbled to the crib to discover that it was empty.

"No...My sister...Ah!" The boy exclaimed as he felt pain shoot through his ribs. The man then handed the boy a mask.

"Your face is horribly burned, maybe you should wear this mask," the man suggested. The boy took the mask and moved to the corpses of his parents. He took the blood of his mother and father and splattered the blood all over the mask.

"As a memory...To my family, this mask will have their blood on it...That woman...She will pay...With Saint Elimine as my witness, I WILL EXACT REVENGE!" The boy exclaimed angrily as he put on his new mask.

"Boy, what is your name?" The man asked.

"My name? My name...Is Kai..." The boy replied. "Who are you?" The boy growled.

"Karel," the swordsman replied as the boy looked at the man's sword as a sadistic smile appeared on his face.

* * *

><p>(14 years later)<p>

"Kai! Come here!" A voice ordered. The boy had grown up now 20 years of age. In the last fourteen years, he had continued to wear the mask in honor of his family. No one had seen his face.

"Yes, Lord Lundgren?" Kai asked.

"I have a new mission for you, this is of utmost importance. Recently, two knights have gone to Sacae to find Lady Madelyn and her family. Little do they know, Lady Madelyn and her husband were slaughtered by bandits. However, their daughter still lives," Lundgren growled.

"What does this have to do with me milord?" Kai asked.

"Your one of the finest assassins in all of Lycia. You may have the worst in battle ability, but strategically you're the best. I want you to assassinate the girl!" Lundgren ordered.

"Give me a name, and it will be done," Kai replied.

"Lyndis, kill Lyndis, that is your objective." Lundgren answered.

"Then it shall be done," Kai replied as he began to walk away from the throne, dagger in hand prepared for his next mission.

"Wait a moment Kai! For this mission, you will go by the name, Mark, is that understood?" Lundgren ordered.

"Yes, my liege," Kai answered as he exited the room.

* * *

><p>Kai began to wake up in a bed as a headache began to take affect on the boy. He sat up as he began to look around.<p>

"What the hell? The last thing I remember was...Oh no! Dammit! Those bandits, I need to leave and fast before they-" Kai ran toward the exit but he accidentally ran into a woman on his way out.

"Oh, my apologies," Kai said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"It's okay, just be a little more careful," the woman replied.

"Still, I'm glad to see you're okay," the woman stated.

"Thank you, but why did you help me?" Kai asked.

"I saved you because I felt it would have been cruel just to leave you on the plains. You were in a pool of blood, I could not just leave you there to die," Lyn answered.  
>"Thank you, may I ask your name?" The boy asked.<p>

"I am Lyn of the Lorca," Lyn replied. Kai was surprised. The woman he was supposed to kill had saved his life. He couldn't be careless however, he smiled at her with an innocent look.

"My name is Mark, pleased to make your acquaintance," Kai began to laugh to himself. He could kill Lyn easily right now if he wanted since she was unarmed, but he preferred to deceive his target. Trick them into a false sense of security then strike them down when they least expected it. At that moment a loud bang was heard outside.

"Mark, wait right here, I'll be right back," Lyn stated as she walked outside. Kai began to ponder when and where he would strike down Lyndis. Suddenly, Lyn burst into the room rushing for her sword.

"Dammit, bandits! They must be looking to harm the people in the villages! I have to stop them! Wait here, I'll be back in a second," Lyn said. She then darted out of the door and Kai smiled.

"Heh, I could let her die out there, but I've been dying to get involved in violence...Heheh, I guess I'll have to get involved," Kai laughed as he ran out of the door. He watched on as Lyn began to attack two bandits in a two on one fight. Lyn was unable to attack due to the odds, but she could dodge. One bandit went for a violent swing and Lyn saw the opportunity. She ducked the attack and the bandits axe slammed into his partners rib.

"Gah! You backstabbing idiot!" One bandit screamed. Lyn took advantage and slammed her sword into the chest of the bandit who accidentally wounded his partner. Without missing a beat, Lyn turned and decapitated the remaining bandit as his head fell off his body. Kai was in awe of what had just happened.

"Impressive, she's got talent, that's for sure. Too bad I have to-" Kai had begun to make his way back to the ger, but as he turned he backed into something. He turned to see a bandit that was considerably taller than him standing behind him with a massive smirk.

"Blast!" Kai exclaimed knowing what was next. The bandit attempted to kill the boy who managed to duck the slash. He tried to get his dagger, but as soon as he pulled it out, the bandit kicked him in the hand. Kai then received a foot to the stomach, sending him flying. Lyn appeared and attacked the bandit. The two began to fight at an inhuman rate. The bandit tried going for the killing blow, but Lyn dodged slashing the bandit in the stomach. Batta stumbled back and began to laugh much to Lyn's surprise.

"Don't you know who I am?" The bandit laughed. His smirk quickly turning to a scowl.

"I'M BATTA THE BEAST! I WILL NOT FALL TO YOU! FEAR THE BEAST!" Batta exclaimed as he charged at Lyn. Lyn dodged his next move and then stabbed him in the ribs. He let out a massive howl as she slashed him in the chest once again. He pushed her away and screamed in anger.

"THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I WILL NOT BE BESTED BY A SACAEN WHORE!" Batta screamed. He then heard a whistle behind him. He angrily turned and Kai leaped onto his back. Kai slammed his dagger into the side of Batta's jaw, causing him to howl once again. He grabbed the boy from behind his head and flipped him over. Lyn tried to help Kai, but Batta grabbed her by her clothing and tossed her away like a rag doll. Kai stood and then charged at Batta again. Batta slashed at the boy. Kai managed to dodge by dropping on all fours. He landed, but he had made a mistake. He looked up and Batta's foot slammed into his right arm, Kai's arm bending awkwardly.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kai let out with a blood-curdling scream. His arm was broken and he held onto his broken arm as he looked up at Batta. He then kicked Kai in the face, but Kais mask protected his face from being disfigured. Kai landed on the ground with a thud. Batta turned to combat Lyn, but it was too late, Lyn slammed her sword straight through Batta's chest killing the bandit. She dropped the bandit's dead body and she rushed to Kai's side.

"Are you okay?" Lyn asked. Kai sat up covering his face with his left arm. For twenty long years, he had been masked. He was disfigured horribly after his family was slaughtered. He felt that he was hideous and he never wanted anyone to see his face, but Batta had destroyed his mask. His mask covered his whole skull. With his mask broken his entire skull was visible. His light green hair being the first thing that was seen.

"What's wrong Mark?" Lyn asked the boy.

"My mask is gone. I-I can't let my face be seen. I'm horribly disfigured. Fourteen long years and now-" Kai began.

"I'm sure it's-" Lyn managed to get Kai to move his hand from his face. She saw his true face, and she was shocked at what she saw. She had expected Kai to be horribly disfigured, but she was wrong. In fact, it was the complete opposite of what she expected. His blue eyes looking straight back at her. A scar over his left eye, but it had little to no impact on how he looked.

"You aren't disfigured. You look perfectly normal," Lyn stated. Kai was in shock. "Here, look," Lyn told. Kai walked over to the small puddle Lyn was pointing to. He saw his reflection and he was shocked.

"What in the world, how is this possible? She-She shot fire in my face! I should be disfigured, this is impossible!" Kai exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Lyn asked.

"I-I-It's nothing, let's just get out of here,"

* * *

><p>Lyn had just finished wrapping up Kai's broken arm. It was now tied to his stomach. Lyn had used some cloth she found to wrap it around his arm and over his shoulder. Kai was sitting on the bed.<p>

"Thank you, Lyn." Kai stated.

"Don't mention it, but...I wanted to ask you something," Lyn began.

"What is it?" Kai asked.

"Can I maybe...Travel with you?" Lyn managed to ask.

"What! No, I'm sorry, but I can't let you travel with me. How old are you? Fifteen? Sixteen?" Kai asked.

"I'm eighteen," Lyn replied.

"I'm sorry Lyn, but I will not even consider it without your parents consent," Kai retorted. In truth, he only said that because he knew in the end he would just kill Lyn when she fell asleep, so saying yes would be pointless.

"Parents...Consent?" Lyn looked away as Kai began to hear sniffling. He turned to Lyn who was covering her face.

"My-My parents...My tribe...They were all slaughtered...Bandits...They came...and killed everyone..." Lyn began. Kai was shocked at what came next. His heart seemed to sink when Lyn revealed her family's demise.

"Hey it's okay, besides I-" Kai froze, he remembered the slaughter of his family. The memory played back in his head over and over again. He eventually felt sorrow take over his heart. This was the first time in years he'd felt emotion.

"Y-You're not alone," Kai told Lyn.

"What?" Lyn replied.

"My mother...My father...My sister...They were killed before my eyes, and I was left for dead. Mother...Father..." Kai cried. "Wha-What is this emotion? Is this...Is this sorrow?" Kai asked himself. After the demise of his family he hadn't had any emotion about anything. This was a first for Kai.

"L-Lyn...It-It's okay...Don't...Don't embrace it..." Kai began.

"Embrace what?" Lyn asked.

"Don't embrace the hate...Don't let the hate overcome your soul," Kai instructed. He embraced it after his family died. He knew that when you embraced it all you desired was to kill the one who caused that hate to flare in your heart. Knowing that he would take Lyn's life later assured that Lyn would not get the chance to exact her revenge.

"Th-Thank you Mark, I feel better now," Lyn replied.

"I'll consider letting you travel with me. I'll sleep on it, is that okay?" Kai asked. Lyn nodded and Kai nodded back.

"I'll go outside, good night," Kai began.

"You don't have to, there are two beds here," Lyn stated.

"Two?" Kai began, but he remembered. One of the beds must belong to Lyn while the other belonged to her parents before they passed.

"Very well, good night Lyn," Kai stated as he smiled to the swordswoman, contemplating when he would strike.

* * *

><p>Lyn was asleep on her bed and was in a deep sleep. Kai walked into the room with his dagger in hand. He waltzed over to Lyn's bed and looked down at the girl as she laid asleep on her bed. He unsheathed the dagger from it's case and smirked.<p>

"Sorry Lyndis, nothing personal, it's just business," Kai stated as he raised his dagger. He brought down the blade straight at Lyndis' skull, but he stopped a centimeter from her face. He was shocked. He could not bring himself to kill Lyn, why he did not know. He rose his hand again and went for another attack, but again he stopped just before it could damage Lyndis. In anger he left the room and went outside he ran outside and threw his dagger at a tree.

"DAMMIT! What is wrong with me? It was an inch away! An inch! Why can't I do it?" Kai exclaimed. He then began to think and he came to a conclusion.

"I see, it's my pride. Subconsciously, my pride won't let me kill her without repaying her in someway. That is the only explanation. It's decided. I'll let her travel with me, and once my debt is paid, I will kill her where she stands!" Kai laughed as he walked back into the ger.

Kai was waiting outside for Lyn who was taking a while to finish preparations. He was getting impatient- he wasn't a patient man and he wanted to get going as soon as possible. The sooner he repaid his debt, the sooner he could assassinate his target. Lyn then got out of the get and Kai let out a deep breath.

"It's about time, what took so long?" Kai asked.

"It turns out I didn't have all the things you asked for." Lyn stated.

"WHAT! Perfect, if those bastards hadn't stolen my stuff, this wouldn't be an issue." Kai growled.

"We could always go to Bulgar, it is only a few hours away," Lyn replied.

"Fine, we'll go to Bulgar, let's get this over with," Kai grumbled as the two began their walk towards Bulgar.

(To be continued)


	2. Pride of Caelin

Lyn and Mark were walking through Bulgar looking for a merchant. Mark was contemplating where the two would head next. Considering the fact that he would somehow need to repay his debt to Lyndis before killing her, Mark needed to find a way to return the favor. Lyn seemed pretty happy about finally being able to roam more freely, this made Mark feel a lot less guilty about having to kill the young Sacaen, this was a strange pattern for Mark. He had not felt any emotion after his family was killed, it baffled him that someone he'd met a short time ago, was the one who brought these emotions to surface. Marks eyes continued to drift as he'd been searching for a merchant, eventually, he saw a small shop with a man standing behind it.

"Lyn, here's a merchant, maybe he has the supplies we need." Mark suggested. He gave Lyn a gesture to signal that he wanted the Sacaen to follow him. Lyn nodded and the two walked toward the merchant who stood waiting for the two.

"Ah! Two youngins looking to buy my wares! What can I get you?" The merchant asked with a smile.

"Yes, do you have a map of Elibe, and some vulneraries?" Mark replied.

"Why, of course! Here you are!" The merchant stated as he placed the items on the counter in display in front of Mark. He then gave another stern look at the merchant.

"Do you have any weapons with you good sir?" Mark asked the merchant who nodded in response.

"Good, get me the best sword you have," Mark ordered. The merchant went under the desk and pulled up a case. He slowly opened the case and revealed its contents to the assassin. Mark looked closely at the blade. Mark frowned at the sword believing it wasn't anything great. He looked the merchant in the eye and took a deep breath.

"How much?" Mark asked.

"700 gold," the merchant replied.

"Like hell! This thing is worth 200 gold at best! I may not be an expert in fighting, but I can see the value of a weapon, and frankly, I've seen sticks worth more gold!" Mark exclaimed.

"You disrespectful lout! How dare you mock my wares!"

"I'm not mocking your wares! I'm mocking your sword. Surely you have a sword worth more than this piece of trash!"

"Fine! Here's the real best sword we have! I hid it because I doubt someone as young as you could afford this!" The merchant growled as he slammed the sword onto the counter. Mark gave a look at the sword and smiled.

"Now this, is more like it! How much for this?" Mark asked.

"2000 gold! Like you could afford it!" The merchant laughed.

"Mark, don't you think that's a bit expensive?" Lyn stated. Mark gave a laugh at Lyn's comment.

"Nonsense, with my last job, I could afford the most valuable sword! This is child play as far as I'm concerned!" Mark stated. He opened the bag that hanged over his shoulder. He opened the bag and pulled out a smaller bag. He placed it on the table and a loud bang was heard. He opened the bag and the merchant was boggled by how much gold was in the bag.

"WHAT THE HELL! WHA-WHERE DID YOU GET THAT KIND OF MONEY?" The merchant exclaimed in amazement.

"If you were in my line of work, you'd know! I think this should cover it," Mark stated with a smirk across his face. The merchant was amazed, he never imagined that a boy at 20 years of age could afford such expensive things without so much as a dent in his wallet. Lyn and Mark walked away from the merchant as they continued looking around. Lyn turned to Mark with a confused look on her face.

"Mark, where did you get that kind of money?" Lyn asked the assassin as he took a deep breath.

"After having my job for six years, you're going to be pretty damn rich," Mark revealed as he continued looking around.

"What job did you have?" Lyn asked. Mark gave Lyn a cold, and stern stare.

"You ask too much, I never liked that in a woman, or anyone really," Mark replied. He turned away from Lyn and continued his search. He grabbed some gold from his bag and handed it to Lyn.

"Listen, we're likely going to be travelling a far distance, it would be wise for us to get some horses. I want you to look for the stables. I will look for a vendor who sells food and water. Can I trust you Lyn?" Mark asked. Lyn nodded and turned to make her way across the city. Mark continued searching for the vendor, until he heard a woman screaming in disgust. He turned to see a knight chasing after a woman, and this made him chuckle.

"Heh, knights, little to no respect amongst too many of them nowadays," Mark chuckled. He saw another knight lamenting the other knights actions. He saw the knights face, orange hair, red eyes and red armor.

"Blast! It's Kent! If he catches me, oh man, I can't let him know it's me. Wait, without my mask...He won't recognize me, I'm actually happy my mask was destroyed now!" Mark exclaimed with a sigh. He continued walking, but the red knight stopped him in his path.

"Excuse me sir, but have you seen a woman named Lyndis?" The knight asked.

"Lyndis? Nope, not familiar with her," Mark replied confidently.

"Hm, I'm sorry sir, but have we met before?" The knight asked. Mark's heart suddenly began to beat faster, he was afraid he had been caught, but he decided to keep the panic to himself.

"Whatever do you mean?" Mark replied.

"It's just...There's something familiar about you..." The knight stated.

"Well, you must have the wrong guy," Mark insisted.

"Maybe you're right, the guy you seem like wears a mask anyway, and his face is supposed to be horribly burned. I'm sorry for wasting your time," the knight said.

"It's no worry," Mark replied. As Mark walked away, he let out a sigh of relief, he'd just avoided being caught by a knight of Caelin, if they caught him, he could be in trouble. He continued walking and eventually he found the stables he slammed his hand into his head as this realization came to him.

"Dammit, I cannot believe I actually sent Lyn the wrong way, this just gets better and better." Mark sighed.

"MARK!" Mark looked up to see Lyn guiding two horses in his direction.

"Oh perfect, I went in a circle," Mark growled to himself.

"Here's your horse, apparently his name is Cornellius," Lyn stated.

"Cornellius, huh? Well, that's certainly a creative name," Mark sighed as he climbed onto the horse. Lyn climbed onto her horse and the two began their way through Bulgar.

"Mark, did you get the rest of the supplies?" Lyn asked.

"Unfortunately, no, I went in a circle," Mark sighed. Lyn rolled her eyes at Marks mistake, but heeded no mention to it.

"My! What is this beauty my eyes have gazed upon!" A voice echoed. Mark let out a deep breath as he realized, Sain was close by. He was hoping he was not talking about Lyn, sadly, that was exactly who Sain was referring to.

"O Beauteous one, would you honor me with your name?" Sain asked her.

"Oh, spare me," Mark groaned as he watched the pathetic display.

"May I ask where you are from to which you speak to a woman so freely?" Lyn asked.

"Ah! I am a knight of Lycia, from Canton Caelin! Home of men of passion and fire!" Sain exclaimed proudly.

"Don't you mean callow oafs with loose tongues?" Lyn shot back.

"Oh, you're so lovely, even when you're cruel," Sain laughed.

"Shut up! Passion and fire? How pathetic, what kind of knight would be so discourteous to a woman? This is just nauseating! I don't know about you, but I'm done here," Mark growled as he guided his horse away from the knight as Lyn pursued.

"Hey, wait!" Sain was about to follow, but another knight cut him off.

"Sain! Hold your ground! I'm disappointed in you, I thought we agreed that you wouldn't flirt with woman on this assignment," Kent hissed at Sain.

"Maybe so, but did you see her? She was gorgeous! To stand in silence while such a beauty roams would be rude and discourteous!" Sain exclaimed.

"Discourteous? Is this some sort of joke? I have never seen you display courtesy!" Kent retorted. At that moment, Lyn and Mark appeared beside the two atop their horses.

"Excuse me, but you're horses are in the way, do you mind moving them?" Lyn asked.

"Oh, of course, my apologies," Kent stated as he moved his horse so Lyn and Mark could move away. He took a close look at Lyn and he began to remember something.

"Excuse me miss, but I get the feeling we've met somewhere before," Kent began.

"HEY! You hypocrite, I saw her first!" Sain exclaimed.

"I guess there are no decent men among Lycia's knights!" Lyn growled.

"I really, wish my arm wasn't broken right now," Mark stated.

"Come on Mark, I've run out of patience!" Lyn exclaimed as she ordered her horse to dash away from the knights. Mark did the same and followed her away from the two knights.

"Wait! I didn't mean it like that...Sain you lout! Do you realize what you've done?" Kent growled.

"What? What did I do other than keep you from being a hypocrite?" Sain asked.

"Sain you buffoon, I know you've seen the portraits in the castle! That girl looks way too identical to those portraits to be a coincidence!" Kent concluded.

"Wait, you can't be saying that-"

"That girl must be Lady Lyndis!" Kent exclaimed.

"Y-You can't be serious! You're kidding right?" Sain replied.

"Only one way to find out, come on!" Kent ordered. He turned his horse to pursue Lyn and Mark and his horse sped off in their direction.

"Wait, Kent! Wait!" Sain beckoned, but his fellow knight ignored his pleas.

Mark and Lyn were moving their horses away from the gates of Bulgar and both seemed disgruntled.

"How dishonorable, I mean who would imagine knights would be degraded into that over time?" Mark sighed.

"I don't know, I always imagined knights to be far more honorable, but I guess I was wrong, oh well we all make mistakes," Lyn stated. Mark stopped his horse and closed his eyes.

"Mark, is something wrong?" Lyn asked.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Mark stated. He jumped off his horse and grabbed his dagger with his good arm. He slammed the dagger into the ground and began making a small marking. He then placed the palm of his hand into the center of the marking and a sense of fear overcame him.

"RUN! We're being followed!" Mark exclaimed.

"Why should we run?"

"Lyn, I know from experience that being followed is never a good thing. We must get out of here! Anon!" Mark ordered. He was about to climb onto his horse when an axe appeared. Mark managed to dodge the axe as a bandit appeared before the two.

"Girl! Your name is Lyndis, is it not?" The bandit asked. Lyn froze in disbelief unable to believe that a random bandit knew her name. She quickly snapped out of it and jumped off her horse.

"How do you know my name? Answer me! Now!" Lyn demanded looking for answers.

"So it's true, it's a shame that a beauty such as yourself has to die," the bandit laughed. He charged at Lyn who had her sword readied. The bandit rose his axe and slammed it at Lyn who managed to roll out of the way and slash the bandit in his leg. The bandit fell forward and Lyn prepared to land the finishing blow, but a hand stopped her. Another bandit appeared out of seemingly nowhere, he punched the Sacaen in the stomach and threw her away from him.

"You coward, what kind of man hits a woman!" Mark growled.

"Who are you to judge us? Kai?" Mark froze in place as the leader of the bandits stood to his feet and revealed that he knew his true name.

"You've killed men, woman and children with no remorse, and now you preach to us about what's right and wrong?" The bandit leader scoffed.

"It's better than being a bandit, you're worthless savages who kill for fun!" Mark shot back.

"Assassins and bandits are one in the same!"

"That's a lie!" Mark growled.

"Really, you kill, we kill, your kind would murder men, woman and children for gold, as would we." The bandit leader retorted.

"Th-That's not true! We do it because we've been hired to!"

"Bandits are hired sometimes too," the bandit leader argued.

"No! I'm nothing like you savages!" Mark retorted.

"Look, we've both been hired to do the same job, help us kill the girl and we'll give you a cut of the earnings." The bandit leader offered.

"I'd sooner die then help savages like you!"

"Be careful what you wish for," the leader scoffed. Two bandits grabbed Mark by his arm and threw him into a tree.

"Mark!" Lyn screamed, but one bandit caught her in a full nelson holding her back.

"Hold on lassie, you'll get your turn!" The bandit leader laughed. One bandit walked up to Mark and lifted him into a standing position. The bandit gave a powerful punch across Mark's face causing him to fall to the ground. The two bandits knelled down and began pummeling Mark, punch after punch.

"Stop you ruffians!" Lyn exclaimed. She managed to get into a position that allowed her to slam her heel into the bandits 'weak point' and escape the hold. She grabbed her sword and stabbed the bandit in the chest. The Sacaen turned her attention to the leader and began going for rapid slashes. The leader was unable to keep up with Lyn's speed so all he could do was block. The bandits punched Mark hard enough to make him scream.

"Mark!" Lyn exclaimed, but it was a foolish move on her part. Her momentary distraction was enough for the bandit leader to kick her in the stomach causing her to fall on her back.

"Say goodbye!" The bandit leader roared as he rose his axe. Out of nowhere a javelin struck the bandit in the back piercing right through his heart. The grip on his axe came undone and fell. Lyn rolled out of the axe's path and stood to her feet. She turned to see that the two bandits had turned tail and ran while Mark laid bloody and battered on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Lyn asked as she grabbed her vulneraries. She began pouring them on Mark's wounds. She heard the clatter of horse hooves coming from behind her. She turned to see the knights from earlier appear.

"I'm sorry we were late," one knight stated with sincerity.

"Here, allow me to heal his wounds," the orange haired knight offered. He began to pour the vulneraries onto Mark until the assassin could stand on his own two feet.

"Are you alright?" The orange haired knight asked. Mark nodded in response as he held onto his broken arm which had been reaggravated due to the beating he had just received.

"Why are you two here?" Lyn asked.

"First, allow me to introduce myself, I am Kent, and my companion here is Sain, we're here because-"

"YOU'RE DEAD NOW!" A voice screamed. The group turned to see five bandits running toward them.

"Scatter! We'll flake'em out one by one!" One bandit exclaimed.

"Oh man..." Mark groaned.

"We're going to need a strategy and fast!" Sain stated.

"The bandits have hidden and we can't combat what we can't see! What can we do?" Kent growled as he began looking around.

"Can't combat what we can't see...I've got an idea! Problem is, one of us could die executing this plan. Okay, first, we need to hide three of us, and the other one needs to lure out the bandits. They can lure them to our position and we can finish them quickly. Lyn, they were looking for you, so you maybe the best bait!" Mark concluded.

"No way! I'm not going to let a beauty like this die by the hand of such ruffians! I'll do it!" The green knight offered.

"No, sorry Mark, but you're the best option, you're the only one that can't fight." Kent stated.

"Fine, I'll do it, but I swear if I die..." Mark growled as he darted into an open area. As he predicted, two bandits burst out of their hiding spots to combat him. The knights and Lyn rushed forward, and managed to defeat the two bandits. Two bandits appeared out of nowhere and leapt from the trees onto Kent and Sain causing them to fall off their horses. The third bandit tackled Lyn and began dragging her by her feet away.

"Oh no you don't!" Mark exclaimed as he ran at the bandit. He lifted Lyn and used her as a weapon to hit Mark in the arm, he followed by kicking the assassin in the stomach sending him back. The bandit tossed Lyn's sword away and began to run, but out of nowhere a mage in a black cloak appeared in front of the bandit. He snapped his fingers and shot a blast of fire at the bandit, the blast went straight through the bandits stomach and he fell dead onto the grass. The mage vanished and reappeared behind one bandit and snapped the bandits neck. The other bandit noticed and threw his axe at the mage, the mage took the bandits dead corpse and used it as a shield. The mage shot another blast of magic at the bandit and it killed the bandit on contact. The mage walked over to Mark's unconscious body and knelt down next to the boy.

"Stay alive, you must for your mother..." the mage said as a soft, woman like voice escaped from her cloak. The female mage knelt over and kissed Mark on the cheek and then proceeded to leave the area.

Mark just regained consciousness he looked to see that Lyn, Kent and Sain were surrounding a campfire. Lyn was frozen and a look of shock was planted on her face.

"Lyn, what's going on?" Mark groaned as he pushed himself up, still feeling the effects of the days battle.

"We just told your friend that she is of Lycian royalty, the granddaughter of Marquess Hausen." Kent stated.

"Really?" Mark said in a confused tone, despite knowing this for a while. Lyn nodded and began pondering this fact in her head.

"I-I can't believe this...I was all alone in this world...And so suddenly I have a grandfather," Lyn stated this news was overwhelming for the Sacaen. Until, something hit her...

"Wait! That bandit! He knew my name! He knew my name was Lyndis!" Lyn exclaimed.

"Lundgren...That son of a..." Sain growled.

"Lundgren?" Lyn said in confusion.

"Lundgren is the brother of Lord Hausen, in other words, your great granduncle." Kent stated.

"What does that-" Lyn began.

"He was next in line as the Marquess of Caelin, however, with you being the granddaughter of Lord Hausen you're higher in the pedistal meaning you're the next Marquess, Lundgren is angry about that and will do anything he can to make sure you're unable to claim the title." Kent stated.

"So, those bandits must have been hired by Lundgren...Kent you don't think Lundgren will hire...him?" Sain asked.

"Him?" Lyn stated as she tilted her head slightly.

"In Lycia, there is a renown assassin, no one has seen his face and it is said that he was disfigured horribly when he was young. His family was killed and the same one who killed his family shot fire in his face burning his face horribly, leaving him disfigured. It is said that the last thing his victims see before he kills them is his horribly disfigured face. His name is Kai, and he has never failed an assassination." Sain answered.

"I'm afraid he will send Kai after us eventually. We'll just have to wait and hope he doesn't appear." Kent stated.

"Is he really that scary?" Lyn asked.

"No, but he is someone we have to keep a look out for. If he got to you, it would pretty much be the end for you. Luckily, we'll be able to see him coming from far away. Hopefully, he won't appear." Sain sighed.

"Lyndis, we have one more thing to ask of you," Kent began.

"What is it?" Lyn asked.

"Will you travel with us to Caelin?" Kent questioned. Lyn paused to think about the offer, for a moment, she stood silent, but she looked up and nodded. She then turned to Mark.

"Mark, will you be joining us?" Lyn asked. Mark without hesitation nodded.

"Thank you Mark, you'll be a great help." Lyn stated.

"I can only hope," Mark sighed.

"We should be off to bed we have an early morning tomorrow." Kent suggested. The two knights and Lyn lied down, but Mark remained sitting. He sighed to himself and thought about what the bandit said, as the thought had cratered deep into his mind.


	3. Unwanted friendship

"Murderer! Murderer! Sick! Sadistic! Heartless!" The bandit chanted over and over as the volume forced into Mark's ear drums. Mark's dream continued as he saw himself killing many of his victims, from a lord of Ostia, to a bum on the street. As he envisioned his victims, he heard their voices join the bandit's chant, "Murderer! Sick! Sadistic! Heartless!"

"Shut up… Shut up!' Mark screamed as he began to run from the voices. As he ran fled, he bumped into Lyn. He fell to the ground while she remained unmoved. She extended her hand to Mark, and as he accepted the Sacaen helped him to his feet. Suddenly, Mark lost control of his body. He grabbed Lyn by the shoulder and turned her around. As if his hand had a mind of its own, he slammed his dagger into her chest. He could feel cold blood flowing out on to his hands.

"Y-you traitor…" Lyn groaned as she collapsed to the ground. An unbelievable feeling of guilt come over Mark as he heard the voices of Kent and Sain join in the chant. The myriad of voices continued as they had previously.

"Stop it… Stop it! Shut up!" Mark bellowed out once again. Suddenly, two swordsman appeared in the black fog before him. The man with long light black hair and a friend of his with short black hair wearing a red headband and clothes similar to Mark's. Mark ran to their side and grabbed the tall one with long hair by shoulder.

"Karel… Help me please…" Mark begged the figure.

"I have no need for a hopeless case like you," Karel retorted as his body vanished into the mist.

"Doig… Help me please!" Mark beckoned to the other swordsman.

"No decent man kills a woman without a valid excuse. Assassins are not exempt from that rule," Doig stated as his body also vanished into the black fog.

"Doig, Karel please," Mark exclaimed in desperation. "I didn't want to kill her; I didn't mean to!"

For the first time since his family had died, tears began to run down Mark's face. Black ribbons burst out of the ground and wrapped around his arms and legs. They pulled him onto the earth, leaving him unable to move. He struggled against them, but they were too strong. He saw his mother and father appear from the mist looking down on him, their son.

"Mom; Dad?" Mark asked. Both parents turned their heads away from the boy.

"We're disappointed in you," Mark's mother sighed as she vanished into the black.

"We expected more from you." Mark's father added as he too faded away. A younger woman replaced his parents, looking similar to what Mark had imagined his sister to have appeared if she had grown up. The image of what Mark imagined his sister to look like had she grown up appeared.

"Sister? Is that truly you?" Mark he said wearily as he began to struggle against these black ribbons. His sister staring back at him with a cold stare.

"We may share the same blood, but no brother of mine would kill innocent people," his sister retorted and faded away in to darkness just as all those before her had done. Marks face was plastered in shock, even his sister, who died as an infant, had shunned him.

"Wait! Wait! Please just..." He suddenly felt another black ribbon appear, this one covering his mouth muffling him. He then saw another figure emerge from the black. It was the woman who had slaughtered his family.

"Don't worry kid, this won't take long," she laughed as she placed her foot on his stomach. The background cycled between the sky the night his family was killed, and the black fog that had surrounded the others. The woman opened her hand and smirked.

"Say good-bye!" The woman laughed as she placed her foot on the assassin's stomach. The scenery in the background continued to shift. The murderess opened her hand, forming a powerful glow of magic at her finger tips. Without even so much as a flinch, the blast cut into Mark's face. He shot up from a sitting position, spotting Lyn, Kent and Sain asleep nearby. The fire they had set for the night had died out; the moon was still high in the sky.

"It was only a dream," Mark sighed to himself as he shook his head. He grabbed his dagger and walked over to Lyn.

"This time, I won't back out!" he hissed under his breath. He lifted his dagger; the sound of his mother's blood-curdling scream played back in his head causing him to jump due to the sudden scream. He dropped the dagger; it landed right behind his foot. Mark backed away slowly hitting a tree after a few steps. He was frozen.

"What the hell happened to me? Why can't I just do it? What is wrong with me!" Mark growled to himself as he slumped down to the base of the tree and placed his face into his hands. Ever since he heard about the slaughter of the Lorca, and Lyn being the only survivor, he had felt different about everything. He hesitated about assassinating Lyn; he began feeling guilty about his previous victims, and began to hate what he had become. It seemed the only thing that remained was his hatred of bandits. He began to lie down, taking a deep breath as he did so. Closing his eyes, he returned to his slumber.

Mark awoke once again, discovering Kent and Sain still asleep. Lyn was missing; he began to look around, wondering where she had gone. Soon he found the Sacaen sitting on a small hill nearby. The assassin began walking toward the hill where she was. Lyn was gazing at the sunset silently, as the young man loomed behind her.

"What is it?" she asked, making it clear that she was aware of Mark's presence.

"Nothing. I just didn't see you at the fire; I thought you had wandered off," Mark spoke softly, still gazing at the Sacaen before him.

"I'm going to miss the plains; nothing can ever match how beautiful the plains are," Lyn spoke from memory. It was something she knew she would miss dearly. Lyn was born and raised on the plains of Sacae, and loved everything about them. From her hair blowing in the wind, to the smell of sweet, flourished. Mark as well began to remember his past and the time he spent on the plains, under the wing of Karel.

"I see what you mean... I spent literally half of my life on the plains, and I've come to appreciate how beautiful the plains really are," Mark replied as memories of his days training under Karel. Remembering his daily spars with his friend Doig, but he always seemed to lose. This was why his mentor abandoned him, under the belief that he was too weak.

"Really? That's nice to know. It seems the only people who truly appreciate the plains anymore are those who grew up on them. It's nice to know someone who lives elsewhere sees the beauty the plains have," Lyn sighed. Mark closed his eyes, and he'd began to notice something inside himself. He noticed it in the battle with the bandits the day prior, but he had just realized it. He realized that he was forming a bond with the Sacaen, that they were becoming friends. As Mark realized this, he growled to himself; he did not want friendship.

"Lyn, wake up Kent and Sain, we should get going soon," Mark ordered in a coarse tone. Lyn nodded and proceeded to wake up the knights. Mark clenched his fists in anger, still frustrated by his unwanted bond with the girl.

"Dammit, how could I let this happen? I'm a fool; allowing myself to become friends with a target... I must dispose of her before it's too late," he groaned to himself. His instincts as an assassin, and a friend of Lyn were clashing, and to his surprise his ruthless side was unable to prevail.

The four had been making their way to a shrine in western Sacae. Lyn had put in quite an effort to convince her companions to condone the mission. Mark was just as opposed to it as Lyn was determined to go, but eventually he caved. Sain and Kent were completely compliant with Lyn in the scenario; they were loyal subjects. Kent, however, had been more worried about something beyond the mission. He had been keeping an eye on Mark. Kent had yet to be convinced, but there was something suspicious about Mark, but he couldn't put his finger on it. At that moment his friend Sain rode up next to him. Sain was concerned, and asked if something was troubling his fellow knight.

"Kent, is something wrong?" Sain asked his companion as he continued looking at Mark.

"Sain, doesn't Mark seem familiar to you?" Kent replied keeping his voice low to avoid notice.

Kent prodded Sain further, seeing if his friend shared any suspicions toward their new companion. For a moment, it seemed as if his fellow knight was merely going to dodge his questioning. To Kent, the uneasiness made complete sense.

"Of course not, why do you ask?" Sain asked.

"It's just...There's something uneasy about him. I get the feeling he's hiding something," Kent said to himself.

"Hiding something? What do you mean?" Sain asked.

"He's just...I just have a bad feeling about him," Kent sighed.

"I think you're being paranoid Kent, you always were too serious," Sain replied.

"Lady Lyndis is the princess of Caelin, and the future of one of the largest territories in Lycia is in her hands. Something about Mark makes me think he could threaten its very balance." Kent pressed further, increasing the stakes, trying to make his friend notice his genuine concern. Sain chuckled and remained indifferent, "You thought I'd never make it to knight when we first met, but look at me now."

It was not that he had not believed his friend would succeed, it was a matter of discipline. It was a failure he believed would keep Sain from becoming a great knight. He quickly corrected his companion.

"Loosen up Kent, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," Sain brushed off concern as he began to ride faster, away from his friend. Kent moved his gaze to Mark, continuing to size him up.

"For your sake, Mark, I pray you're intentions are pure," Kent grumbled under his breath as the four continued toward the shrine.

The four came to a forest, following the assassin's lead. The day crept on, with assurance they would soon be clear of it. However, mile after mile, the stretch of trees and shrubbery continued. Slowly, Kent began to lose his patience. Already suspicious of the young assassin's intentions, he was first to question his path.

"The forest was supposed to end three miles ago!" Kent shouted, finally tired of excuses and uncertainty. The assassin argued back, throwing explanations back only to be shouted down by the knight after each. The map used to navigate was old, three hundred years in fact; it seemed logical the distances and landmarks may have changed. Kent would hear none of it.

Lyndis and her companions were lost in the forest and Kent was screaming at Mark.

"You fool! How could you lose our location!" Kent exclaimed.

"I didn't, we're right here!" Mark argued.

"You ever think that maybe the forest extended in length!" Mark replied.

"That's impossible!" Kent shot back.

"This is an old map! It was made nearly three hundred years ago; it's very likely that this forest grew!" Mark growled back.

"Three miles! A likely story!" Kent retorted.

"Enough, enough! We'll continue tomorrow. For now, let's just rest for the night," Lyn groaned as she sat onto the grass below her feet.

"Very well Lady Lyndis," Kent followed orders as he always had, hopping down from his horse. Mark tied his horse to a tree and then lay down on the ground, resting after the day's journey. The horses were fed, and so Kent and Sain allowed themselves to rest as well. Unfortunately the ground was rough, causing the two discomfort. Sain sat up and addressed Mark, who seemed to be having no trouble.

"I understand how Lyn can stand lying on the grass, being a Sacaen and all, but how can you stand sleeping on it?" He asked, rubbing his neck as if it were already stiff.

"Believe it or not, when I was six to when I was thirteen, I lived on the plains. My mentor taught me how to endure all the trials that nature can throw at a man. From the frigid cold of a mountain top, to the endless and maddening ventures of the sea. He was a cruel man, but he taught me to be far tougher than the average person." Mark closed his eyes as he brought the memories of his childhood back to the surface, speaking in a solemn tone. They were experiences that defined him even to this day.

"Mark, may I ask how long have you lived?" Kent's question seemingly came from nowhere, but had purpose.

"I've lived twenty years, why is that?" The assassin opened his eyes and looked back toward his comrade, curious.

"No reason," Kent answered, but that was a lie. He was becoming even more uneasy about his new companion. Seven years since he lived on the plains and ever since seeing him in Bulgar, suspicions over Mark had increased, leading him to believe the man was connected to the assassin Kai. He had begun taking notes about Mark and Kai; allowing him to see a lot of connections between the two, too many to be mere coincidence.

"Hey Mark, I have a..." Kent's voice was cut off sharply as another overtook it.

"Help me!" A young woman's voice echoed from behind the trees. The entire group stood and ran toward it, almost instinctively. They came across a woman being held captive by two bandits, smiling over their prize. The woman had long black hair that stretched to her waist, and beautiful, emerald green eyes. She was wearing a green kimono, but the bandits smiled at their prize. One of the bandits had long blue hair put into a ponytail, he had an extremely muscular physique. The other bandit much smaller with short red hair with blue eyes.

"Let go of me you monsters!" The woman screamed as she struggled against her captors. They merely taunted her; she did not have the strength to escape on her own.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you. At least not with our axes!" The bandits laughed at the pitiful struggle of their prize.

"Enough!" Sain's voice crashed across the forest, almost a force in its own right. The bandits turned as he burst out of the bushes. Lyn and Kent followed; Mark paused for a moment, reluctant to join them. Against his better judgment, he finally joined them.

"Why don't you four leave before you get hurt?" One of the bandits whipped his axe around in a display of skill, trying the four that had just appeared.

"Why don't you leave her alone!" Lyn shouted back, unafraid. Lyn unsheathed her blade and took a stance ready to combat the bandits.

"Fine, you'll get hurt too! Get the girl!" The bandit ordered. The second bandit lunged forward at Lyn. Kent appeared in between them and speared his sword through the bandit's chest. He ripped his blade out, letting the bandit fall dead next to Kent.

"How dare you! You'll pay for that!" The remaining bandit shouted in rage. He charged at Kent who managed to dodge the attack. He charged at Kent; the knight easily dodged a careless attack. Lyn circled from behind the knight and stabbed her sword into the bandits unsuspecting side. She drew her sword as the wounded bandit stumbled back and fell onto his knee. Lyn loomed over him as he growled at the girl who had just stabbed him.

"Tell me, are you of the Taliver bandits?" Lyn inquired. The bandit managed a shake of his head , causing Lyn's posture to become less violent.

"Then I have no reason to kill you; leave now." Lyn demanded. The bandit stood to his feet with his hand over his wound.

"You can't order me around!" The bandit retorted. He charged at Lyn once more. He was even slower this time due to his wound, and she again dodged his attack. With a swift motion, she plunged her sword into the man's chest. He fell dead to the ground almost instantly. The woman they had come to rescue was cowering next to the tree she had been pinned to by the bandits. Mark dropped his stance and walked over to her slowly, as to not scare her.

"Are you okay?" Mark asked as he stared at the horrified woman. The woman slowly moved her hands from her eyes to see the assassin looking at her. She slowly began crawling away in fear.

"Please... Please have mercy!" The woman begged; Mark let out a sigh.

"Don't worry we won't..." the assassin began to speak, but was cut off sharply. At that moment, Sain appeared next to them with a goofy smile, directed toward the woman.

"My, what a beautiful young lady! Would you favor me with..." Sain's words were cut off as he received a fist to the temple. He backed away and clutched his head.

"Enough Sain, she's obviously been traumatized! I will not condone that kind of behavior either." Mark growled. Despite being an assassin and willing to kill any target from an infant to a noble, Mark always believed in courtesy when it came to women and children. His attitude towards men was far more hostile and aggressive, however.

"Are you hurt?" Mark asked. The woman clung onto him and began crying into his shoulder. The assassin was surprised by this woman's sudden reaction.

"Thank you, may St. Elimine bless all of you!" The woman exclaimed as she released the boy and made her way toward Lyn.

"Can you please help me with one more thing?" The woman asked. Lyn inquired as to what would be asked of them next.

"What is it?" Lyn asked.

"Bandits, they attacked the shrine of the Mani Katti. My grandfather and a lot of my friends were captured by the bandits, I managed to escape, but those two bandits chased me. Please, help me, and save anyone you can!" The woman begged.

"Sorry, but we're too busy to get involved in such an affair," Mark rejected her plea for aid.

"No Mark," Lyn interrupted quickly, overriding her companion, "I want to help this woman's friends. Besides, we were going to visit that shrine anyway."

"Lyn, that's a foolish move. Lord knows how many bandits there are. If we go there, we could be vastly outnumbered. We'll wait until this whole thing blows over!" the assassin shot back.

"No Mark, I appreciate your concern, but I can't just let those people be held captive. Kent! Sain! Let us go! Mark, we'll need your help too!" Lyn exclaimed. "Excuse me, but where is the temple?" Lyn asked.

"Just a little farther, not too far from here!" The woman answered. Lyn nodded and led her forces back to the site so they could all retrieve their horses and begin their way to the shrine. Mark sighed reluctantly, but caved and followed the three. As they ran, Mark noticed the girl following behind them. He looked at her from the corner of his eye, barely turning and turned his head, continuing to run.

"What are you doing! This is dangerous, let us handle this!" Mark called back to her.

"I can help!" The woman continued behind them, insistent.

"Fine, but be careful. What's your name!" Mark asked for a name, as she would clearly not be dissuaded by his warning.

"Eria!" she shouted ahead, happily. They all continued running until the shrine was in sight. Mark told the others to stop as he spotted a large crowd of bandits surrounding the area once he saw the bandits in his range.

"Okay, we're up against bandits right now and we're heavily outnumbered. I assume about ten to five or reduced two to one. Generously it's two to one odds; we need a strategy to defeat them. Our best chance is to use stealth; we have to sneak around some of them and even the odds." Mark stated believing that his hypothesis was accurate, and possibly too close to home.

"That's actually a good idea, but how?" Kent asked.

"Let me see here, okay, well with my broken arm and all, I can't do too much. Sending Kent and Sain could be bad since bandit and knights often clash, so we need to think of something. Eria! I need you to take a big risk. Do the bandits know what you look like?" Mark turned back to Eria and waited for a response questioned. Eria nodded causing a confident smile to stretch across the assassin's face.

"Eria, I need you to lure those bandits away from their posts and toward us. We'll take them out then proceed into the shrine." Mark ordered. Eria looked down and took in a deep breath. She leaped from the bushes and rushed towards the shrine while her protectors followed closely behind, staying very well hidden so the bandits were unable to detect them. The bandits easily saw Eria rushing towards them. She stopped in front of the two guarding the temple.

"Look at this, she's still alive where are Kilp and Bork?" the taller of the two asked.

"They're dead, and soon you will join them!" Eria exclaimed as she took a defensive stance. Mark recognized the stance Eria had taken. It was a stance he learned, and had used many times before when his dagger failed.

"Mark, is something wrong?" Lyn asked. Lyn noticed the shock that appeared on Mark's face as if something unexpected had come up.

"That... That's the stance of the praying mantis fist!" Mark exclaimed. Eria had curled her front leg into the ground as her other leg sat firmly behind her. Her arms jerked in a fashion that showed she was ready for violence. Her hands now curled into a triangle ready to strike her pray.

"Isn't that a form of Martial Arts?" Kent asked.

"Yes, in fact it is one of the most agile forms of Martial Arts; it is not based on pure attacks. It is used to counter direct attacks and follow it up with a blow to a vital area of the body." Mark stated in amazement.

"So, why does she need our help?" Sain questioned.

"Most forms of martial arts cannot counter large weapons like an axe. Swords and lances can be combated with some forms of martial arts, however, only absolute masters can do that." Mark answered.

"After my mentor abandoned me, I learned a lot about Martial Arts, and mantis is where I excelled. I did dabble in a few others though," Mark stated. One bandit lunged at Eria with his axe; the weapon came crashing down quickly. She managed to dodge, leaping over and around him to give one powerful blow to the back of her opponent's neck.

"Gah! What was that!" The bandit growled angrily holding onto the area that

"I hit you directly in the air pipe, it's only a matter of time before you're unable to breathe this attack is difficult to do from the back of the neck where the spine is in the way," Eria stated. The bandit she struck managed a smile smiled as he noticed his partner about to kill her with a chop of his axe. Sain saw it coming easily and threw his javelin at the bandit causing him to fall dead to the ground.

The other bandit turned, only to spot Lyn already seconds from stabbing her sword into his chest. He did not have time to react, and was finished in a mere instant. She let his body drop to the ground and charged into the temple as her companions followed. The surprise of each of their attacks had turned the odds in their favor, perhaps giving them a false sense of victory. As they reached the inside of the shrine, there where only four bandits left. All four readied themselves for the five rescuers before them.

"Are you the ones responsible for all of this? Are you the ones holding this girl's friends and family?" Lyn questioned.

"Who wants to know? We were here to steal the Mani Katti, but that stubborn blade won't budge!" The leader hissed, angry that the guards failed him.

"You dared to try and steal the Mani Katti? You fool; the Mani Katti can only be wielded by the one it selects as its owner, and that person must be pure of heart and mind!" Mark exclaimed.

"You've defiled this shrine, and I won't let this go unanswered unless you turn tail and leave immediately," Lyn demanded. The leader of the bandits scoffed in response.

"Yeah right! I'm Glass, the most revered swordsman in all of Sacae! I take what I want!" He cackled.

"You must be mistaken, the most revered swordsman in all of Sacae is my master, the sword demon Karel!" Mark retorted. Glass' eyes widened at the realization of Marks words.

"A pupil of the Sword Demon Karel? Then you're the one I kill. Ilp, Soik, Flin, you take care of the rest of these nuisances!" Glass ordered. The other three bandits rushed toward Lyn and the two knights. Glass in what seemed like an instant appeared in front of Mark. He slashed at the assassin, missing. Mark knelt back and slammed his leg into the swordsman's stomach. Glass took the hit, jumping back with a smile.

"That's pathetic. If you were really Karel's pupil, you'd be much more of a challenge!" Glass scoffed at the weak attack and laughed. Mark pulled out his dagger, lunging at his opponent. Glass moved with purpose, catching Mark's arm in the midst of his attack. The bandit leader's guard surprised Mark,

"Impossible! No one has ever blocked that!" Glass merely smiled, unimpressed with the assassin's attack.

"You will not enjoy this, but it will be over quickly," Glass laughed. He slammed his blade into the ribs of Mark and blood began to leak out of his clothes as he pushed the boy forward. The assassin fell on his back like a lifeless rag doll as Glass drowned him in his maniacal laughter. Finally, the bandit leader raised his sword into the air. Mark lay on the ground unable to move, soaked in his own blood.

"Begone!" Glass screamed as he brought his blade down onto the boy. A sword intercepted his, blocking the finishing strike just in time. Glass looked up to see his new attacker; it was Lyn. The bandit leader took another jump back, reading anger plastered on the girl's face. He also noted that the knights had just gotten next to her and realized his allies had been defeated. Lyn and her knights stood to face him now; he spotted his three fallen comrades around the chamber. He was alone.

"Normally, I would save this ruthlessness for the Taliver, but after defiling such a sacred place and doing this to my friend; I will never forgive you!" Lyn exclaimed. So many close to her had been killed by bandits, and she hated bandits for it. Seeing her friend lay so helplessly on the ground angered her beyond belief.

"Kent, Sain get Mark out of here immediately!" Lyn ordered.

"No! Let me handle this!" Eria lingered as the knights dragged Mark away from the battle

"You'll pay for this you heartless monster." Lyn stated.

"Hey we can all dream girl," Glass laughed.

"You'll pay for what you did to Mark!" Lyn exclaimed as she lunged at the bandit and forced her sword down aiming for Glass' head. Glass deflected the blow with his sword and shoved Lyn back. Nimbly, she flipped through the air, landing firmly on her feet.

"You're pretty athletic, not bad for a girl. It's a shame that a beauty as talented as you must die now!" Glass said with a smirk.

Lyn stood silently and prepared her sword for another attack. Glass and Lyn lunged at each other again, their swords colliding with a massive clang, echoing throughout the shrine. Glass began to perform multiple slashes at lightning like speed. He came at her as if a blur, all she could do was do her best to block. She eventually felt her back hit the wall. Glass went for one massive stab, but Lyn managed to sidestep the attack. She lifted her sword and slashed Glass' chest forcing him back and to the ground. Lyn stood her ground as Glass struggled back to his feet, hissing at the girl who had wounded him.

"I-I'll be damned if I fall to a girl like you!" Glass exclaimed. He pulled out another sword and cackled, "Let's see how you enjoy two swords!" He lunged at Lyn and lead with a simple slash, which Lyn blocked easily. The second came in behind it from the other sword, slicing past her face, cutting the very tips of her hair. As she was off-balance, the bandit kicked her hard in the jaw. She was sent flying, her sword fleeing from her grasp. After a few feet she impacted with the floor, flat on her back.

"Lyndis!" Kent and Sain called out to their leader in unison.

"No..." Lyn refused their aid, still struggling to regain her footing, "Let me...Do this alone...". Glass marched over to his downed opponent and raised his sword, smiling with confidence of victory.

"Say good bye!" He shouted as he brought down both of his swords. Lyn rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the finishing attack. Springing from the floor, she kicked Glass' left arm, following it with a kick to his stomach. As Glass remained stunned, she curled back and shot back onto her feet. Finally, she delivered another kick to Glass's arms causing him to lose one of his blades as it flew into the air. Lyn caught it as it fell and sliced it into the bandit leader's stomach. Glass fell onto his knees. dropping his sword as blood seeped down his stomach, bleeding through his clothing. Lyn picked up Glass' other sword and looked into the eyes of her opponent.

"As Princess of Caelin and noble of Lycia, I deem it my responsibility to punish this bandit. I sentence you to death!" Lyn exclaimed. She used the sword to make one more massive cut into Glass' chest. After a slight shock to his body, the bandit fell dead onto the ground. Lyn turned and ran over to Mark and her other comrades.

"Is he going to be okay?" Lyn asked. She saw Mark begin to sit up, his wound seemingly non-existent. He was clenching his fists angrily.

"I-I'm so...Pathetic!" Mark exclaimed. He slammed his good hand into the wall and blood splattered upon impact. Mark heeded no attention to the new wound, it was merely an extension of his anger and frustration.

"Mark, careful!" Lyn ordered. Eria quickly grabbed the assassin's hand and placed her's over it and began to heal his wound.

Lyn unlocked the door to where the hostages were being held and all of the people had been released from the small prison they were locked in.

"Thank you for all the help!" Eria chided giving a polite curtsy to the Sacaen.

"It's no problem, really. Your safety is good enough for me." Lyn stated with a smile. Lyn then saw an old man with a bald head, and long white beard approach.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" The old man asked.

"If it wouldn't be too much of a bother, could I possibly pray to the Mani Katti?" Lyn asked and the old man smiled.

"Yes of course, I'll even let you touch the blade!" The old man chimed. Lyn nodded and made her way to the sword, closing her eyes as she placed her hands on its handle. For a moment everything was silent. Soon, the blade began to glow, the light seeping through Lyn's eyelids, catching her notice. Everyone stood in shock as they gazed at the blade.

"Grandpa! Is the sword doing what I think it's doing!" Eria exclaimed.

"What? What's going on?" Lyn asked. Completely oblivious to what was going on as confusion overtook her.

"The spirits of the Mani Katti call to you. You are their master," The old man stated.

"Me? The Master of the Mani Katti?" Lyn said to herself in shock. Why is she shocked she is the master of the Mani Katti?

"You are pure of heart and mind, and because of that the blade views you as its master!" The old man stated.

"I-I can't... I don't believe this is happening..." Lyn said in amazement.

"Then go on, unleash the blade from its scabbard." The old man insisted. Lyn nodded and she pulled the sword out of its resting place as the light shined brighter, igniting the room. Lyn trembled, glaring at the blade in surprise at what had just happened.

"It came out... Effortlessly," Lyn said in shock.

"I cannot believe I lived to see the day the Mani Katti's master was determined." The old man laughed.

"Lyn... You truly are amazing," Eria stated. Lyn began to blush at Eria's comment completely flattered by what she had said.

"I'm nothing special," Lyn replied.

"Take care of that blade and it will take care of you; good luck on your journey!" Eria's grandfather chimed.

"Good bye! Wait, where is Mark? Kent is gone too!" Lyn exclaimed. Sain looked around and sighed,

"Wait here, I'll find them." Mark said as he rode off.

Mark was sitting at the end of a lake, washing his face angrily.

"I'm such a fool! I can't believe I let myself become attached to that Sacaen, " the young assassin growled to himself, boiling with anger, "I'm so weak!" He soon heard a knight's footsteps from afar. He turned to see Kent emerging from the trees.

"What do you want?" Mark growled.

"You aren't fooling me!" Kent exclaimed.

"I don't know what you're up to, but you're hiding something, and I'm going to find out what! Mark my words!" Kent growled at Mark.

"Whatever you say, but I have nothing to hide," Mark retorted.

"I hope it's nothing bad, because today Lyndis proved me one thing... She genuinely cares about you. Which brings me to my next point," Kent began.

"And what is that?" Mark asked.

"You should stop fighting; your safety concerns Lady Lyndis and it will only be a burden from here on out. You proved today that your talent is in strategic knowledge. What I'm saying is, I think you should be a tactician." Kent suggested, "I'm not telling you anything, it's just a thought." His thought finished, he marched back away from the assassin, leaving the man to ponder what had been said.

"Tactician? Interesting..." Mark laughed to himself as he watched the river flow before him.


	4. Wings and Arrows

The four companions had begun climbing the foot of a mountain. Kent, and Sain were getting tired due to the upward climb, they had to get off their horses and guide them due to the fact that horses were not good in upwards slopes. Lyn was beginning to get a bit tired, she was unused to walking up an upward slope, despite how energetic she was as a child, she never climbed a mountain. Mark was completely full of energy and travelling at a faster pace than the rest of his companions. The time he had trained with Karel helped him excel in a lot of activities, including mountain climbing. Mark realized he was going too fast for companions and found a rock near the top of the mountain and waited for his three companions. It took a few minutes, but the three eventually caught up to their friend who was waiting. Sain was the first to say something to Mark who sat confidently on the rock.

"D...Damn you Mark...You...Make this look so easy..." Sain said to his friend while trying to catch his breath.

"You're going to...Have to introduce us to Karel soon...He taught you well...To endure this..." Kent followed as he also gasped for air.

"Sorry, but I couldn't lead you to him even if I wanted to," Mark stated with a yawn.

"And why is that?" Kent asked.

"About seven years ago...Karel and thy friend Doig abandoned me, I was asleep after a small spar I had with Doig and they left me alone on the plains. Doig left some food, water and gold for me to survive on my own which shows he was reluctant to leave me to die," Mark sighed.

"Wow, he sounds cruel," Lyn stated.

"He is, did you hear that rumor that he killed his family?" Mark asked. Lyn nodded and Mark gave a stern stare.

"It is true...He killed everyone in his family with the exception of his little sister Karla. He would often slash Doig and I for fun and to increase our endurance. No vulneraries...No clerics...We had to deal with the pain. I still have the scars all over my body." Mark replied. He rolled his sleeve up revealing multiple slash marks on his arm showing all the scars Karel had left on his arm.

"Think that's bad? You should see my chest and stomach." Mark sighed as he rolled his sleeve back down. "All the rumors are true, he's cruel, heartless. He did defeat an entire army alone, he did kill that wizard that could freeze a person's veins, and he did beat that stone giant." Mark answered. He looked up to see that the very top of the mountain was just a short walk away and turned to his partners.

"I don't know about you, but I'm heading to the top then calling it a night." Mark stated as he made his way to the top his companions in tow. The four were sitting around a campfire and Mark stayed silent thinking to his head. When he first made it to Lycia he was taught by a well known strategist and he was a very intelligent person. Never before had he thought as hard about something until now. He desperately was trying to think of how he would muster enough of his will to kill Lyn. Mark was very worried about Kent, he knew that Lyn and Sain were completely oblivious to the threat he truly posed to the group. Kent was different. He had suspected Mark from the start, when they met in Bulgar, Kent could not help but feel he'd met the assassin once before, and he was right. Mark did meet Kent one time before but Mark could not remember the scenario as clearly as he would have hoped.

"So Mark, tell us more about yourself." Kent insisted. Mark glared at his companion with a cold stare knowing why he insisted Mark talk about himself. Kent knew that little is known about Kai's past, but he knew if Mark was Kai, he could connect the dots. Mark chuckled slightly with his frown unchanged.

"Gladly...I was born in the country of Etruria, and I was born a child of two mages who were well known throughout Elibe, they were also nobles in the country. After I was born, they moved to Sacae looking to give up their past." Mark stated.

"Really? Who would they be?" Sain asked. Mark looked at his companion and gave a straight face.

"My mother was Noblewoman Iris, and my father was Prince Juge," Mark stated causing Sain to choke on a piece of meat, but his friend Kent helped him regain his breath.

"Your...You're lying...You're the son of the mage princess and the ex-Prince of Etruria!" Sain exclaimed in shock. Lyn looked at the two knights with a confused look.

"Iris? Juge? Who are they?" Lyn asked. Kent turned to Lyn with a stern look.

"You never learned about Iris and Juge? They lived here in Sacae in the last few years of their lives!" Kent stated and Mark held his hand out. Kent realized this was Mark telling him not to be so shocked.

"I was only six when they passed on. Lyndis is eighteen, meaning she was four. Even if they were mentioned, I doubt she would remember. In my travels in Etruria I heard about them many times." Mark told his companions just before he pulled out his dagger and began washing it in the puddle of water next to him.

"They were both of royalty. Juge being the heir to the throne of all of Etruria, Iris' father was made a noble by my Great Grandfather for his work in helping stop a massive bandit invasion that ravaged the entire country. Juge unlike most nobles preferred using magic rather than a traditional rapier. My mother, Iris was from a family of mages, hence her natural ability to excel in magic. They met in a battle when two groups of bandits grouped together to take over an entire section of the kingdom. There in the battle was Benvolio, the previous mage general, alongside his three students. My mother, Iris, my aunt Ariel and current mage general, Lord Pent. Sadly, Benvolio was killed due to a wound taken to his cranium, despite Ariel's best efforts to heal him. They were left alone and eventually, my mother ended up receiving an axe to her stomach. Almost instantly after that, my father appeared with an entire group of soldiers. He had the entire group of bandits dispatched and killed, while Ariel tended to my mother's wounds. My mother was rushed to the castle to rest and she encountered my father face to face. My Grandfather resented Iris' father because he was jealous that his rival in school surpassed him in his own father's eyes. For this reason, when Iris revealed to her father that she loved my father, she was almost instantly disowned. My grandfather said he would not allow the daughter of his rival to become Queen, so my father gave up his title as Prince and forfeit any status of nobility in Etruria so he could be with my mother. They then ran off to be wed and live together elsewhere in Etruria. After I was born, they believed staying in Etruria would leave me vulnerable to encountering fallacies and falsehoods. So, they moved to Sacae where we lived until that woman appeared and killed them." Mark finished his speech about his parents before he took a deep breath to calm down. The memories of the woman killing his family angered the boy immensely and because of it he would do anything in his power to achieve vengeance.

"Wow, they went through a lot just to be together," Lyn stated and Mark nodded in return.

"That's what love does to people. To be honest, I hope that one day I can love someone as much as they loved each other," Mark said to his companions as he looked to the sky.

"Don't we all," Lyn replied with a smile at her friend, but realized he remained indifferent as he looked to the sky.

"Hey Mark," Lyn began causing Mark to turn to his companion.

"Hm? What is it?" Mark asked.

"Why don't you ever smile, you always seem to be serious, I've never seen you happy." Lyn stated with genuine concern. She'd seen Sain and even Kent smile at certain points in their journey, but Mark hadn't smirked even in the slightest. Mark clenched his fists angrily as images of the woman who killed his family appeared to him.

"That bitch stole any joy I had...She stole my smile, she stole my happiness leaving nothing more than anger and hatred. Because of her I am a bitter, broken soul." Mark growled confusing his companions.

"She? Who is this 'bitch' you speak of?" Kent asked his companion.

"I don't know her name, but she killed my mother, father and my sister." Mark as he began clenching his fists even harder.

"Lord Juge and Lady Iris were murdered?" Lyn asked in confusion and Kent nodded.

"Yes, both of their corpses were found in Sacae about twelve years ago by a traveler." Kent stated causing Mark's head to drop as he looked at the ground.

"She killed my mother and father as I watched on, she then turned her attention to me and left me for dead...When I came to, I found the corpse of an infant covered in blood...Proving to me that she killed my sister!" Mark exclaimed angrily as he slammed his fist into the ground. Blood began to ooze out of the assassin's hand due to the impact, but Mark refused to acknowledge the pain he had just put himself through.

"Mark, your hand," Lyn began but Mark stood to his feet in anger.

"Leave me be! I'm going for a stroll," Mark stated as he stormed off.

"When will you be back?" Kent asked his companion.

"Whenever I feel like it!" Mark retorted without even turning his head as he continued walking away. With Mark gone, Kent felt he should bring his concerns about Mark to surface and see what both Lyn and Sain thought.

"Lady Lyndis, Sain, we need to talk about Mark," Kent began looking at both of his allies hoping they would feel the same.

"I think Mark is lying to us, I've pieced it together, Mark is not thy true name...It saddens me to say that I heavily believe that Mark is actually...Kai..." Kent sighed sadly, a look of seriousness crossed both Sain and Lyn's face as they looked on at the knight.

"Kent, ridiculous, do you really think Mark is Kai? What evidence do you have?" Sain asked his friend.

"He's twenty years of age, and when he was thirteen he lived on the plains. That's a seven year difference. Kai first appeared in Lycia seven years ago." Kent answered hoping his friends would notice the same things he did.

"That maybe valid, but still, that doesn't prove anything, I'm sure a lot of 13 year olds moved to Lycia seven years ago." Lyn responded to Kent's argument.

"Lady Lyndis, when you met Mark, was he wearing a mask covered in blood?" Kent asked causing Lyn to freeze, but after a moment, she managed to speak again.

"Yes, he was wearing a mask covered in red...But was it really blood?" Lyn asked her companion who sighed taciturnly.

"I'm afraid Kent is right, that's enough evidence to prove that Mark is Kai..." Sain groaned.

"But why would Kai be here? Why would he be in this group?" Lyn asked Sain and Kent who looked at

he each other. Kent gave a serious look to Lyn and sighed once again.

"I'm afraid that traitor must be put to sword," Kent stated causing Lyn's eyes to widen.

"Wait! Isn't that rash? Why would we have him executed?" Lyn asked Kent, but Sain decided he would answer.

"I think it's safe to say he was hired by Lord Lundgren to kill you," Sain answered, but Lyn smiled at

her companions after Sain finished his answer.

"Why are you smiling?" Kent asked.

"That disproves your theory Kent. If Mark really was Kai and hired to kill me, why am I still here?" Lyn replied to her companion who was shocked by her response. Lyn continued her argument to Kent.

"Mark has had numerous opportunities to kill me, yet he has not taken one, before we met and after as well. If Mark was truly planning on killing me, I'd be in the heavens right now, cursing his name." Lyn stated causing Kent and Sain to pause, they had judged their companion, and while they were right, Lyn's argument left no room to argue. Lyn's response caused enough doubt in the minds of the two knights to lose faith in that possibility.

"That's true...Maybe it is a coincidence...Kai's not the one to waste time. I guess I was just being paranoid," Kent stated showing that he had given up on his theory all doubt in Mark had subsided.

"Wow...I can't believe I actually began doubting Mark...He seems honest enough, I feel like such traitor..." Sain groaned to himself lowering his head in shame.

"Let's go to bed, I'm sure Mark will be back soon," Lyn ordered. The two knights nodded and set themselves down and prepared to doze off.

"Grr...That bitch...She killed everything I loved...She murdered my family...And now...These feelings have been brought to the surface! Grr...This is all ridiculous! How could I allow myself to be so vulnerable...Why can't I just kill the Sacaen! It should be simple, just one slam of my dagger to the breast would suffice, but why can't I do it! I'm a pathetic being if I cannot just slam my dagger into her chest...A plague upon myself for being unable to accomplish this simple task!" Mark screamed to himself while looking at his dagger. He heard wings flapping above him and he looked up and a Pegasus landed on top of him. A girl with light pink hair and beautiful green eyes leaped off the majestic creature almost instantly.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it!" She screamed in panic ordering her Pegasus off of Mark who growled angrily as he pushed himself up.

"Watch where you are going! Thou could have could have killed me for your recklessness! Grr...I'm sorry, I'm just having an exhausting day..." Mark groaned to himself as he proceeded to dust off his clothes.

"I...I um..." The girl studdered catching, Mark's attention.

"What is it, are you okay?" Mark asked the girl who was looking away.

"T...Two bandits were-"

"There she is!" A voice bursted from the outskirts of the village. The girl shrieked as the two bandits approached. One bandit pointed to the girl.

"You will repent for your sins!" One bandit growled as they both stormed to the two.

"Excuse me, what seems to be the problem?" Mark asked.

"This girl landed on my friend's foot! She will pay for her carelessness!" One bandit growled. Mark looked at the girl who was now hiding behind her Pegasus.

"P-P-please…I didn't mean to...I'm sorry!" She whimpered and the bandits began walking toward her.

"We'll be taking your little horse. It should fetch a good price!" One bandit laughed before Mark intervened.

"I beseech you…enough of you recklessness turn tail now, before I thrust this dagger straight into your heart." Mark threatened pulling out his dagger pointing it at the bandits.

"Is that a threat? How insane must you be if you challenge bandits! Learn your place!" The bandit exclaimed. He grabbed Mark and threw him out of the way and he turned to the girl who slammed a lance into his chest. The bandit stumbled back growling.

"How dare you…You'll pay for that!" The bandit roared angrily, the girl dropped her lance in shocked.

"I….I apologize, I did not mean to hurt you…."

"You miserable wretch!" The bandit roared slamming his axe at the girl, Mark appeared and pushed the girl out of the way, the bandits axe slamming through Mark's broken arm causing him to wail in pain. He fell to the ground grasping the air his arm used to be as blood shot out of the area rapidly. The bandit kicked Mark in the stomach sending him back and turned his attention to the girl.

"It's your turn girl!" The bandit cackled, and he began walking toward the girl who began backing away slowly.

"THIS IS THE END!" The bandit roared before an arrow slammed into his back the bandit growled and turned to see an archer with brown hair and brown eyes standing on a hill behind them.

"Attacking a wounded man and an innocent girl? Someone should teach You some manners!" The mysterious archer exclaimed shooting another arrow at his target the arrow landing right in the bandits chest.

"You…..You! Arrogant little…Heheh….I'm not done yet!" The bandit cackled. He threw an axe at the archer who narrowly ducked the bandits attack.

"Now!" The bandit ordered. Another bandit appeared from behind the archer and threw him down the hill. The archer stopped rolling at the foot of the bandit who he had shot with his arrow. The archer looked up and saw the bandit with an evil smirk on his face. He lifted his axe into the air and smiled.

"Now you will learn why you stay out of other people's business!" The bandit laughed, before he slammed his axe down, the girl had hopped back onto her Pegasus and threw a javelin slamming right through the bandits back. The bandit dropped his axe behind him and fell onto the ground and before coughing up blood. The girl took action and grabbed the archer almost instantly and proceeded to grab Mark while as he lay in a pool of his own blood.

"Are both of you okay?" The girl asked before landing the two beside her.

"You...You wretch! You won't get away! Now! Boys! One collision of our axe to their flesh and all three will fall! Let's end this!" The bandit cackled. Mark looked up and smiled.

"Girl! What's your name?" Mark asked the girl.

"M….My name is….F-Florina…" The girl stuttered. Mark looked up at the tree and pointed.

"Get me a branch from the tree immediately! You, archer! What is your name?" Mark ordered.

"My name is Wil. Who are you?" Wil asked the assassin.

"My name is Mark, but no time! Hold off the axes as long as you can! Florina! I must fight to help survive." Mark ordered confusing both the girl and the archer.

"Trust me, I have a plan…" Mark stated. Florina nodded and threw a javelin at a branch. Mark caught the branch and prepared to combat the bandit. Wil in what seemed like an instant shot enough arrows to slow down enough for the three to dodge the axes.

"Florina! Throw your javelin! Throw your javelin above their heads!" Mark ordered. Florina nodded and she threw the javelin hitting a massive branch and broke it just in time for the branch to land on the bandits crushing their spines. The leader predicted a move and moved out of the way.

"You baffoons! I'll handle this! Now! This is the end!" The bandit exclaimed as he threw his axe.

"Wil! You need to...Ugh..." Mark groaned before he fell to the ground do to the blood loss.

"Mark! Oh no! I'm out of arrows!" Wil growled in panic. The axe was almost there when a blast of fire intercepted the axe sending it flying. A figure appeared in between Wil and Florina. The figure walked towards the bandit who readied his axe. The figure vanished an appeared in front of the bandit before flicking him in the head.

"That's too slow." She laughed.

"Disrespectful wretch!" The bandit exclaimed slamming his dagger into her abdomen, but she vanished upon impact. She appeared right behind the bandit and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and the woman placed her hand right in front of his face and shot a massive blast of fire into his head. When the smoke subsided, the bandit's face was severely damaged and his face completely unrecognizable. The bandit's body fell back and the woman laughed.

"Don't ever mess with my friends..." She made her way toward Wil and Florina who were frozen in amazement. She grabbed Mark and then placed her hands over the area his arm used to be and slowly, his arm reappeared as if it had never been broken or decapitated. The woman fell forward slightly grabbing her head before she fell.

"WHAT! What have you done?" Wil exclaimed in shock.

"Nothing, bring this boy about two miles to the South, his friends are there...St Elimine bless you, and please don't tell anyone about my presence..." The woman ordered before she vanished.

Wil had dragged Mark all the way to the campsite while Florina followed. They reached the campsite and placed Mark's unconscious body on the ground. He looked around, but there was no signs of life.

"Blast, no one is around, how unfortunate...Dame Florina, we should probably be off," Wil suggested before the sound of horse hooves became audible. They turned to see Lyn jump from the trees as Kent and Sain appeared from the bushes and they prepared for combat all taking their stance.

"Step away from him now!" Lyn demanded until she noticed Florina. She lowered her guard and looked toward the Pegasus Knight.

"Florina...Is that you?" Lyn stated. Florina's eyes widened when she realized it was Lyn she was speaking to.

"Lyn! It...It's you!" Florina exclaimed happily as she ran toward Lyn.

"Florina...Why are you here?" Lyn asked her friend who looked up at her.

"I heard you left...So I came out here looking for you, I was hoping I could help you." Florina stated hoping Lyn would accept her offer.

"Florina...I'm sorry, but I'm afraid with your fear of men, being in a group like ours could be hazardous to your health, but if you truly want to join us I guess I would allow it..." Lyn answered, Florina instantly hugged Lyn happily.

"Thank you Lyn!" Florina exclaimed happily. Sain burst out of nowhere and grabbed Florina's hands.

"My! What a beauty my eyes have gazed upon!" Sain exclaimed. Florina ripped her hands away and ran behind Lyn screaming.

"Ah, do not worry Dame Florina! I am sure that-" In the middle of Sain's sentence Kent ran behind his friend and put him in a full nelson pulling the knight away from both woman.

"That's quite enough lover boy!" Kent stated as he pulled Sain away from Florina.

"I'm sorry about that Florina, Sain does that to almost every woman." Lyn groaned before she heard Mark groan. She turned to Mark and saw that his arm was no longer in the cloth she wrapped it in. She turned to Wil and gave a stern stare.

"State your name immediately," Lyn demanded. The archer put down his bow to show he had no intention of causing trouble.

"My name is Wil, I am an archer who helped your friends Mark and Florina when bandits attacked them." Wil stated and Lyn stood to her feet and walked over to Wil giving another stare.

"Explain what you remember. What happened?" Lyn ordered and Wil nodded before turning to Mark's still unconscious body. Wil nodded and began explaining to Lyn exactly what he had witnessed during the battle with the bandits telling her every detail. From Florina landing on Mark to his arm being decapitated. The only thing he left out was the woman who had saved them.

"If Mark's arm was decapitated, why does he still have both arms?" Lyn questioned. The archer took a deep breath before he continued his explanation.

"The mage was a woman and she walked over to us. She placed her hands over Mark's arm and then she looked weak shortly after she finished. Mark's decapitated arm had just regenerated before she left. She instructed us to bring Mark back here." Wil stated.

"Thank you for helping him," Lyn said and she went over to check on her friend before she heard Wil walking over.

"Who is the leader of this group of mercenaries?" Wil asked.

"That would be me," Lyn replied as she began inspecting Mark's arm making sure it was fine.

"I would like to add myself to the group," Wil offered and Lyn stood up before she turned to the archer.

"You want to join us? Well, an archer certainly would be helpful. My question is, why do you want to join us?" Lyn asked.

"Well, you see I ran out of money and I'm at a crossroads. I felt that an archer would help you in your travels." Wil answered. Lyn nodded and gave a smile to the archer.

"Glad to have you, but Wil, Florina if you're going to join us, I feel you both should be warned." Lyn stated with a stern look. "I am being hunted by a noble in Caelin. Thy grand uncle Lundgren is looking to kill me so he can claim the throne in Caelin. With that being known, would you still be willing to join us?" Lyn asked. Both the archer and the Pegasus knight nodded. Lyn gave a smile of gratitude before turning away,

"Thank you, I sincerely appreciate your willingness to help me." Lyn stated before she walked away from the group and sat on the ground.

"I will be going to bed, I suggest all of you do the same. We have an early morning tomorrow." Lyn suggested everyone except for Wil proceeded to lie on the ground. Wil began walking away, but turned to his new comrades.

"I will tell the people in the village that they can now leave their homes and that the bandits are no more." Wil stated before walking off to inform the people of the village. All of the soldiers fell asleep before Wil's return and all had a sound sleep, except for Mark who had begun dreaming a horrible nightmare.

(To be continued)


End file.
